I have a number of old common stock certificates that my Father, now
deceased, purchased back in the 60's and 70's from companies, some of
which like Texaco, Inc and SCM, Inc. were NYSE listed companies at the
time and several other companies, which may or may not have been
listed on an exchange. Where can I go to get the stock splits, stock
mergers and acquisitions, and the current number of shares that I hold
of the surviving companies today, together with the current prices of
the stocks which I hold.  Thank you very much, kent

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 21 Jan 2005 19:12 PST

Hello Kent,

Researching old company histories is a complex business, and depends a
great deal on the individual company, in terms of the best sources to
turn to for information.

There are several companies that specialize in this area, and produce
detailed company-history reports.

For reports that already exist, the best-known stock-history company
charges $40 per report.  For instance, the $40 report on Texaco begins
this way:

-----
TEXACO, INC.
This company was originally incorporated under the laws of the State
of Delaware as the TEXAS CORPORATION on August 26, 1926. It adopted
the title name on May 1, 1959. Its head office was located at New York
City, New York...
-----

The full report covers stock splits, mergers, dividends, and other
information that will go a long way to fully understanding the current
value (if any!) of the shares you hold.

For companies where no off-the-shelf report is available, the same
service will prepare a historical report for a fee of $85.

They also provide a service to provide detailed historical price
information, if you want to know the value of the shares on certain
given date(s)...the fee varies according to the number of dates
requested.

Of course, these fees are payable directly to the stock research
companyh, and are separate from any fees you would pay here at Google
Answers for an answer to your question.

Would information about accessing these company reports meet your needs?  

If so, I can provide the details as an answer to your question, along
with some additional information about how to investigate company
histories on your own, should you choose to do so.

Let me know what you think.

pafalafa-ga

Hello lkabne,

You can find relevant pointers at Securities Exchange commission
website. Check the link..

http://sec.gov/investor/pubs/easyaccess.htm
or 
http://sec.gov/answers/companyinfo.htm

in particular, following link gives pointers to privet companies in
business of giving information you need for a fee.

http://sec.gov/answers/oldcer.htm